Three More Books

Setting ambitious goals means that I have to buckle down, but sanity sometimes requires that I don’t buckle down too much.  Three more books finished, bringing the 2019 total to 8 so far.

The Cruise of Noah’s Ark by David Cory is a vintage children’s book given to me by a friend.  It was charming and hilarious, especially after Jonah, who is grumpy, shows up.  The story involves a toy come to life and a child joining the voyage from the nursery.  Mild adventures ensue and everyone returns safely.

Sowande’ M. Mustakeem’s book Slavery at Sea: Terror, Sex, and Sickness in the Middle Passage describes quite other voyages.  It was a tough but important read about what the author describes as the manufacturing of slaves via the trade route from Africa to the Americas.  The writing, while at times more self-consciously academic than friendly, has imaginative flow.  The thesis and exploration build a compelling case.  And the details are horrifying.  The scale of the wrongs perpetrated during the kidnapping and transport of humans for sale appalls and all this horror occurred before the better-known horror of the plantation systems.  I am glad to have read the book and I hope that it helps me work against the continuing effects of racism in our society.

I needed a break while reading Slavery at Sea and I skipped ahead of my 2019 reading list to indulge in Terry Pratchett’s Witches Abroad, which I got for Christmas from my excellent son and daughter-in-law.  I laughed.  I learned.  It was wise and brilliant and soul-restoring.  I hope they give me the next book for my birthday.

Now I get to pick another book to read!